The Wabunowin (also spelled Wabanowin, Wabenowin, and Wabunohwin; Waabanoowiwin in the "double-vowel" spelling) is the "Dawn Society", also sometime improperly called the "Magical Dawn Society", a distinct Anishinaabeg society of visionaries, practiced among the Anishinaabeg peoples, consisting of the Algonquin/Nipissing, Ojibwa/Chippewa/Saulteaux/Mississaugas, Odawa, Potawatomi and Oji-cree, located primarily in the Great Lakes region of North America. Like the Midewiwin, the Wabunowin is a secretive animistic religion, requiring an initiation, thus early non-indigenous writers lumped the information on the Wabunowin with the Midewiwin. But unlike the Mide, the Waabano have sometimes two levels, and sometimes four. This variation is dependent on the particular lodge. This society was mentioned in The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who used informational materials made available from Henry Schoolcraft to compose the epic poem. The Dawn Society members were systematically imprisoned in mental hospitals by the United States government in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Because of this persecution, the Wabunowin went underground and have just begun to reemerge in the last decade. While many of the ceremonies and traditions are closely guarded, one that is known is the Fire Dance. The Waabanowin have been coming out from underground and re-establishing themselves for about 15 years now. There are active lodges in Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, Indiana and Michigan. Name The word for "dawn" or "east" in the Anishinaabe language is waaban. Its practitioners are called Waabanow (plural: Waabanowag) and the practices of Waabanowin referred to as the Waabano (often transcribed as "Waubuno"). Unlike the mide where gender-specific references could be made for its practitioners, Waabano do not. Though of differing etymology, culturally, waaban is associated with owaabi'aan (syncoped as waabhaan), "they see them", from waabi′, "to see SOMEBODY". This word association reinforces the idea of the Waabanoog as being visionaries. Origin There are differing stories about the origins of the Waabanowin. Many writings put them as a late 19th-century origin, but the members with their oral traditions place the origin many centuries ago. The oral traditions of the lodge put the formation of the society happening shortly after creation. Oral tradition The Waabanowin elders trace the origins of the lodge or society to the original teachings of Nanabozho. The stories of Nanabozho are used in the ceremonies and teachings of the Society. Further, the Waabanowin lodge, usually with less than 25 participants, but as many as 300, only needed one or two elders